About us

Klyde Consultants was established in 1987 and became a limited company in 1989. The company was started by Ingolf Fra Holmslet (originally Ingolf Klyde), and offered training in the use of valves.

The concept stemmed from 1972 when Ingolf was employed as an operator for Phillips Petroleum Co. Norway in the Ekofisk field. His oil-related activities began on board Gulftide, which was the first production platform on the Norwegian Shelf. During his work as a production operator, Ingolf learnt to service valves using cheater bars and brute force, methods that inevitably resulted in the need for many valve replacements.

After some years on Ekofisk, Ingolf changed from off shore to land-based work. This work consisted of repairing and re-certifying valves, some of which originated from the Ekofisk field. During the next 10 years, Ingolf discovered that the majority of valves sent for repair had been damaged by abuse or misuse. In 1985, based on this experience, it was agreed that process workers and mechanics could benefit from some training in the use of valves; the following year saw the birth of the first valve course for Ekofisk personnel.

Having held a number of courses for Phillips Petroleum, Ingolf was contacted by representatives for Statoil who also expressed interest in valve courses. So in 1987, Ingolf signed an agreement with Statoil concerning valve training for personnel on Statfjord and Gullfaks. During the years that followed, more and more companies requested valve training. In 1990, Klyde Consultants held valve courses for the following companies:

PPCoN – Elf – Amoco – BP – Statoil – Shell – Saga – Esso – Conoco and Norsk Hydro. 

During the period between 1987 and 1994, Ingolf held the five-day Basic Valve Course 136 times for groups of process and mechanical personnel in Stavanger.

Phillips Petroleum Co. Norway	40 courses
BP Norway	9 courses
Amoco Norway	11 courses
Elf Aquitaine Norway	4 courses
Esso Norway	3 courses
Conoco Norway	2 courses
Shell Norway	6 courses
Saga Petroleum	5 courses
Statoil	40 courses
Norsk Hydro	16 courses

 

In this years there was developed special courses for the installations:

Sleipner – Valhall – Ula – Heidrun – Kristin – Kvitebjørn – Visund – Kårstø – Snøhvit – Gullfaks – Draugen  – Veslefrikk. 

These courses focused on the specific valves in the relevant installation and how these should be operated and maintained.

Between 1993 and 1994, Ingolf developed the course Valve Course II for Pressure safety valves – PSV. This course was aimed at mechanics responsible for re-certifying safety valves.

In 1994, the courses Basic Valve Course and Valve Course II – PSV were moved from Stavanger to Statoil’s training centre in Bergen. While stationed at Sandsli, Ingolf developed further valve courses for Statoil. In 1996, Klyde Consultants held the following courses for Statoil:

• Basic Valve Course
• Valve Course II for Ball Valves and Plug Valves
• Valve Course II for Gate Valves and Globe Valves
• Valve Course II for Pressure safety valves

In connection with Valve Course II, Ingolf created a valve test rig for Statoil, consisting of 63 valves of various different types. The test rig was on two levels; the pipes on the lower level were filled with water, whereas the upper level pipes were pressurised to 20 barg with air. The rig was used to illustrate valve maintenance and problem solving in an operative situation.

During the period between 1994 and 2012, Ingolf Fra Holmslet was instructor on approximately 350 valve courses for Statoil.

From 2000 to 2012, Ingolf was together with Mintra AS hired by Statoil to develop an interactive valve program to be used for the purpose of problem solving and servicing valves. Part of this interactive valve program has become the basis for the Norwegian Oil and Gas Association’s Guideline 119 Valve Courses.

Up until 2012, Ingolf Fra Holmslet for Klyde Consultants AS was responsible for training and development of valve competence for Statoil.

During recent years, there have been a growing number of requests for courses for project and operational managers. To meet this need, Ingolf wrote the following two books in 2012:

• Cheater Bars for Valves with Rising Spindles
• Cheater Bars for Valves with Rotating Spindles

Cheater Bars for Valves with Rising Spindles is currently available in both Norwegian and English. The second book, Cheater Bars for Valves with Rotating Spindles is expected to be available in Norwegian and English during the autumn of 2013.

These books may be ordered via the webpage.